Travel Guide 2016

The Lanesborough

The Lanesborough – that white-gloved stalwart of Englishness – has had a facelift. But it’s subtle. Which is amazing, given that they basically gutted the place and started from scratch. So things you notice are that it’s brighter (new wood panelling), marblier (in the bathrooms, with tubs big enough to set sail in), shinier (gold leaf EVERYWHERE). And the suites? A riot of chintz, with enormous four-posters, and tablets that make the room warmer, colder, lighter, darker, quieter, noisier and let you call for a cup of tea in the morning. The hotel is now part of the Oetker Collection, and it shows (it excels at service). So you’ll have a round-the-clock butler; ask for Hervé, who will protest loudly if you don’t let him unpack and press your clothes. You should dine at Céleste – with its duck-egg-blue walls, frothy cornicing and glittering crystal overhead – not just because cauliflower comes three ways, courtesy of Florian Favario from Le Bristol, and waiters count silently before revealing the Valrhona chocolate pud from beneath silver domes. But because it’s done with humour, so they’ll smile as you giggle into an over-starched napkin. Afterwards, there’s the Library Bar, for smoked cashews and a Twinkle (vodka, elderflower and champagne). Actually, order several – the hotel has helpfully carpeted each floor in a different colour, making it easier to find your room afterwards

LocationLondon

Telephone020 7259 5599

Book It

Double, from £720 (lanesborough.com; 020 7259 5599).

Prime time

Late June, for the British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park, opposite. (Nip back to your room for your own afterparty.)